1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a means for furling sails, in general, and to a strip for use with a sail during the furling operation, in particular.
2. Prior Art
There are many sailboat enthusiasts throughout the world. Each of these enthusiasts is looking for improved equipment and technique to permit greater utilization of the sailing equipment. One area of improvement is in the furling technique and equipment therefor relative to the sails used with the boat. Many types of equipment have been designed and utilized with sailboats.
In particular, one of the types of equipment which is used is a type of furling mast or a mast with furling equipment associated therewith. Typically, this type of mast is hollow with a slot at either the fore or aft side thereof. The sail is attached to a furling means mounted within the mast, generally along the major portion of the axis thereof. The sail is attached to this furling equipment of this nature and passes through the slot in the mast.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,804, SAIL FURLING, by P. T. Jackson. This patent teaches a sail which is furled upon an upright wind-up member such as a rotatable cable to which the luff of the sail is affixed. The Jackson patent teaches a mast which comprises a rigid shell having a vertically disposed interior chamber and a vertical opening in the aft portion of the mast. In the Jackson patent, the luff of the sail is attached to the cable which forms the wind-up member. The Jackson patent specifically recites that the wind-up member is a cable, is flexible, and has a diameter which is smaller than the width of the opening in the mast. Consequently, the wind-up member can sag or bow under certain stress. This permits the sail to gape and provide an inefficient said configuration. In addition, the Jackson patent teaches that the wind-up member with a sheath or the sail luff attached thereto becomes rigid, and is wider than the slot in the mast. This reduces the tendency of the sail edge to slip out of the hollow mast. However, great difficulty is experienced in removing the furling mechanism from the mast. Thus, a change in sail, modification to the sail, exchange or repair of sails or the like necessitate a difficult task for the sailboat owner.
Another patent which teaches sail furling devices is U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,461, SAILBOAT MAST CONTAINING SAIL FURLING DEVICE WITH SWIVEL HAUL-UP MEANS, by A. Rusich. This patent teaches a similar furling system but with a more detailed description of the components of the furling means, per se. In the Rusich patent the wind-up means is defined as a flexible rod which surrounds cable-like tension means. More importantly, the rod includes a C-shaped groove therein for retaining the bead of a sail. Again, in the Rusich patent difficulty is found in servicing the sail within the mast. Also, a rod is placed over a cable which increases complexity of the wind-up means.
Another approach to the sail furling techniques is to provide a mast with an extremely wide slot. In this type of mast, the opening is far wider than the diameter of the wind-up means. Frequently, the opening is wider than the diameter of the furled sail. This arrangement has the clear difficulty of permitting a gaping sail configuration.